MTV is Bringing Back Fear Factor

According to The Hollywood Reporter, MTV is officially reviving Fear Factor — with a modern millennial twist. Premiering on Tuesday, May 30, the 12-episode season will swap out the "gross-out challenges" of the past for "more playful" ones meant to target a new generation's worst fears. This apparently means "tapping into [the] visceral fears of today's anxious youth — such as couch surfing at 300 feet and waterlogging personal cellphones." There will also be challenges inspired by urban legends, horror films, and creepy online videos just to further spice things up. (Not to be a Debbie Downer, but is Fear Factor really Fear Factor without someone eating a worm?!)

Ludacris has been tapped to host the show, and each episode will feature four teams of two competing for a generous cash prize of $50,000. And for those worried that the reboot might stray too far from the original show, fear not: Fear Factor's original executive producers — Anthony Carbone and Kevin Wehrenberg — will be returning to their former roles, which hopefully suggests MTV plans to keep the old show's terrifying antics intact.

"Fear Factor is one of the iconic franchises that people still talk about, and it continues to resonate within culture," MTV president Chris McCarthy told THR. "With so much change in the world, young people have a rising sense of anxiety. Our reinvented Fear Factor was designed to directly tackle this, and empower the audience to face their fears head on and overcome them in a fun, spirited way."

Fear Factor premieres Tuesday, May 30, at 10 p.m. — but in the meantime, let's take a walk down memory lane through some of show's most terrifying, horrible, and just straight-up disgusting challenges.

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